MAHON, A.R.; CARPENTER, K.E.; Old Dominion University ; Old Dominion University: A phylogeny of putative perciform suborders based on the nuclear RAG1 gene

The Perciformes is the largest vertebrate Order comprising one-third of all extant fishes in eighteen suborders with over 9,300 species. It is widely recognized as a catch-all group that is probably polyphyletic. A phylogenetic analysis of putative perciform suborders and percomorph outgroups representsa test of monophyly for this group. However, no comprehensive morphological or molecular analysis has been previously attempted. We used approximately 1500 base pairs of the nuclear recombination activating gene 1 (RAG1) to infer a phylogeny of perciform suborders. Each suborder was represented, including multiple taxa for all non-monotypic suborders, together with percomorph outgroups. Our analyses support the notion of perciform polyphyly and indicates polyphyly of some suborders. The Holocentridae, Scorpaeniformes, Pleuronectiformes, and Tetraodontiformes are nested within perciform suborders. This supports previous hypotheses that these groups originated from within the Perciformes. Both the Percoidei and Labroidei appear polyphyletic, as suggested by previous studies. Other supported clades include the suborder Channoidei sister to the Anabantoidei, the Zoarcoidei sister to the Notothenioidei, and the Gobioidei sister to the percoid family Apogonidae. These and other phylogenetic hypotheses will be tested in future studies with an expanded coverage of percoid families